It may be mentioned here that the Kanaka Durga flyover has been constructed to ease the traffic congestion. The vehicular traffic on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad, National Highway has been giving jitters to the people of Vijayawada. The inauguration of the new flyover will now divert the highway traffic over the flyover giving relief to the people of the city.
September 4 was the date fixed for union minister Nitin Gadkari to cut the ribbon and throw the flyover open for traffic. However, the sudden demise of former President Pranab Mukherjee and national mourning that followed led to cancellation of the event. Another date, September 18, was fixed for Gadkari to inaugurate the flyover. This time, the union minister tested positive for Covid-19 and the event was postponed again.
Now, no one has any clue as to when the inauguration will be. The Rs. 500 crore flyover has faced several hurdles for its completion. The Union Minister had extended good cooperation for its completion; hence his presence is being sought.
The city celebrates the Dassara festival from October 17 to 25 which will lead to traffic chaos in the region. The wait for the Union Minister and repeated delays are making people worry about its inauguration.
Will Durga flyover go the way of bow-and-string Bridge?
The delay in inauguration of the flyover is turning out to be a jinx of sorts. Many are thinking if this flyover will join ranks with the bow-and-string bridge on river Godavari constructed at Rajamahendravaram?
The bow-and-string bridge was to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister of the Country. Strangely, whenever a date was set for the PM to cut the ribbon, the government lost power at the Centre. Politicians from the State have come to believe that the inauguration of the bridge is jinxed. The railways tried to fix a date for the inauguration with every PM of the day since two decades, but party leaders from Congress and BJP have stumped the efforts, ensuring none of their PMs came to inaugurate the bridge. They have come to assume that the inauguration of the bridge plays havoc with whoever comes to snip the ribbon. This made the railways to abandon the very idea of inaugurating the bridge.
The Kanaka Durga flyover is standing next to the bow-and-string bridge, waiting for it to be inaugurated.